Zambia

Zambia's economy has collapsed and it's healthcare system is in shambles.  That's why when I found this article from June, not even the baby animal blog could cheer me up.

Let's take a look at the issues facing Zambia as well as some of its history.  Time to dig into my notes from earlier this year when our office was looking into Zambia's situation.

Zambia faced a dearth of educated citizens to run the country after independence in 1964.  Its infrastructure was in ruins or non-existent, and its economy, dependent on foreign expertise, was overly dependent on copper.  When the price of copper plummeted from 1980, Zambia’s economy went into a tailspin, not seeing signs of recovery until the copper regained its historical real price in 2006.  During this two and a half decade depression, the economy contracted by a third.  Zambia took loans from foreign countries, the World Bank, and the International Monetary Fund with hopes of a rebound in the price of copper.  As the depressed price lasted through the 1990s, Zambia experienced some of the highest levels of foreign debt per capita in the world, even after some level of debt relief. 

In 1975, neighboring Angola and Mozambique gained independence and plunged into bloody civil wars.  Zambia experienced waves of refugees fleeing some of the harshest violence the continent had seen.  Concurrently, Zambia supported South Africa’s ANC movement.  But this resulted in frequent raids from South Africa on ANC training camps located in Zambia. 

Against this chaotic backdrop, we see the Zambian people struggling to improve their healthcare and education systems.  Loss of teachers due to HIV/AIDS and a lack of proper infrastructure and materials has resulted in literacy rates amongh 15-24 year olds dropping from 79 in 1990 to 70 in 2004.  Other statistics paint a rosier picture but must be contrasted with the falling literacy rate.  Net erollment fell from 80 percent in 1990 to 76 percent in 2003 but then shot up to 97 percent just three years later.  Percent of students reaching the seventh grade rose from 64 percent. in 1990 to 83 percent in 2006, with 79 percent of girls reaching that level and 91 percent of boys. 

Health statistics, while some are improving, are still at abysmally poor levels.  Infant mortality dropped from 107 per 1000 live births in 1992 to 70 in 2007.  Under 5 mortality dropped from 191 deaths per 1000 to 119 over the same period.   Maternal Mortality rose from 649 per 100,000 in 1996 to 729 in 2002 but then dropped to 449 in 2007.  However, life expectancy overall fell from 50.18 in 1970 to 46.47 in 2008.

Public policy has failed in certain respects.  The Millennium Development Progress Report blames the high levels of inequality (GINI rose from 48 in 1958 to 50.8 in 2004) on lacking or failed labor and wage policies.  Neither nutrition policy nor economic safety nets are in place to fight the universal problems of malnutrition and poverty in general.  Furthermore, any effective policies are mostly limited to urban areas, leaving rural areas without access to adequate schools, medical facilities, or skilled professionals of any kind, due to significant “brain drain.”  Skilled physicians often resist rural work and not infrequently leave the country for more lucrative opportunities elsewhere.  The percent of births attended by a skilled professional dropped from 51 in 1996 to 46 in 2007.

So to all of this, we now add corruption.  We knew that it was rampant here already, but it is depressing to see it directly impeding aid to the country's struggling health care system.

Funny Cartoon

Nothing to do with anything, but I love this cartoon from Frank Rich's most recent column.

Cute Animal Blog!

I saw this a long time ago and just stumbled upon it again.  I couldn't blame any of you for never reading my blog again in favor of it!

Unfortunately, it is no longer being updated.  Enjoy the back posts!

Karzai...can you at least pretend to be honest?

I have no words.

Kenya--Constitutions and Snubs

Kenya's new constitution, summarized well in this BBC article, represents some of the largest strides toward a stable democracy capable of combating corruption effectively.

The world is trying to rejoice in Kenya's step back into grace.  So why would they go ahead and do THIS?!?  People can have different friends, and two friendly countries will often have conflicting relationships with a third.  But if a sitting president has been indicted for war crimes and crimes against humanity by the ICC and has an international warrant out for his arrest, it's probably a political faux-pas to invite him over for tea.

So long, India!

I'm getting on a 15 hour plane back home in a couple of hours.  I had a successful trip.  It's going to take a while to digest everything that I've experienced here.  I'll add some pics of my trips--specifically awesome photos of some monkeys--when I return to NYC and settle.

On the plane, I'll begin Gandhi's autobiography.  I spent today at Rajghat (where his ashes were taken), his memorial museum, and the Baha'i Lotus Temple.  Completely filled with beauty but overwhelming at the same time. 

For now, hurray (I hope)!

Jakarta and the Media's Role

The Jakarta Globe reported on the media's role in fighting corruption and how they are failing the people.

The Press Council chairman complained that "News reports on corruption were still mainly focused on law-enforcement aspects, such as the prosecution of perpetrators, rather than on the preventive aspects of the campaign, and thus failed to provide much of a deterrent for would-be offenders."

This is a difficult issue.  There is no question that the media is a key tool in fighting corruption.  Yet we must understand that most outlets are driven by sales.  We cannot ask them to focus on something other than maximum consumption, specifically because the media is only effective if people consume it. 

So what sells?  I'm not sure, but I'd love to hear a bunch of news editors debate this.

Corruption Makes Me Sick...Literally!

The roads here in Gurgaon have gotten steadily worse since my arrival last week.  The persistent rain has seeped through the top tar and softened the mud below, leading the soil to depress and the pavement to crack.  This last trip back from Delhi was the bumpiest yet--and it's just going to keep getting worse.

The roads in Gurgaon have not been built well.  Instead of creating a concrete base on which the tar is then layered, the builders lay the tar directly on the earth.  This would've been almost acceptable if they had first smoothed the earth and then put down gravel to create a base.  Alas, that was too expensive.  Instead of stripping the crumbling road, they fill in the holes with fresh tar and wait for the next week of rain to do its damage.  Why?

Simply:  corruption.

Government officials make lots of money off of the road racket.  They put out a bid for contractors to build roads.  The best bidders--and by that I mean those offering the biggest kickback--then subcontract the work out to the builders using the cheapest materials so as to retain the most cash.  This is how they make their profits after bribing the local government.  DLF, the company that owns most of Gurgaon, has pleaded with the government to be able to build their own roads properly, but the government makes too much money through this corrupt process to allow them to do this.

And what's the result?  I have a stomach ache.

Amazing Bird!

I went to the Taj Mahal today, so in the spirit of being totally blown away, WATCH THIS!

It's a good day.  I'll keep it that way.

Bribery or Theft?

It takes two to tango--and to bribe.  One person must offer a bribe and another must accept one.  Philosophers and the less lofty have argued that all have an obligation not to offer bribes just as none should accept bribes.  But what if the offer isn't really an offer?

I am reading Jared Cohen's Children of Jihad, a fascinating and entertaining book about his time getting to know the youth of the Muslim world.  When he is attempting to leave the airport in Tehran, a member of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps detains him and won't let him leave the country without a $1000 bribe.  This would strike me far more as theft than as bribery.  The guard is saying, "Pay me or else... ."  In a mugging, the thief says, "Pay me or else I'll stab you."  That being said, in an earlier post I mentioned the Indian example of bribing to expedite a passport process (a process that might not be possible at all without some grease on the wheel).  But most would consider this a bribe rather than a theft.  Would the same be true in Jared's example?  Because I feel like he was literally robbed.  And frankly, I would be comfortable saying that one trying to get a passport is robbed as well.

A bribe is when something of value is OFFERED not EXTORTED.  A gray area might be getting out of a troublesome ticket.  Or even grayer might be a situation where a company is told that they will have no chance at winning a certain contract without a transfer of cash under the table.

Thoughts?

Enough of this gray area.  Here is some more from Malaysia!

Victor Bout

I "love" this guy.  And by that, of course, I mean I am fascinated by the fascillitator of countless wars and atrocities throughout the world.  It helps me gain a better idea of just how hard these fights against corruption can be to read articles like this.  Lord of War is based on him.  Fun Film!

Malaysia is trying

This post from Bernama, Malaysia's National News Agency, highlights a common effort that is often insufficient.

Dr. Koh Tsu Koon said, "Action against one 'big fish' is probably better than action against 1,000 'small fish'."  This fits nicely with the aphorism, "The fish rots from the head down."  Do what you wish against petty crime and corruption, but if the ones calling the shots are corrupt themselves, no real reform will ever happen.

But, as many argue, both steps are necessary.  Officials at all levels need to know that their actions have consequences.  Paul Collier explains in his 2000 paper, "How to Reduce Corruption," corrupt societies need a "Big Push" effort.  This requires a full force fight against the big fish and the minnows who have swum astray.

Kitten Fashion Show!!!

Alright, after two heavy entries, I think it's time for our first break.  Enjoy this kitten fashion show provided to me by inimitable Annina DeLeo, of course.  How does she find these things?

Make sure not to miss sleeping Napoleon.  Too good.

Rent and underpayment--two sides of the same corrupt coin

My last post focused on the issue of underpayment of officials and how it can lead to corruption.  Linked here is yet another example (hundreds more to come, for sure) of underpayment leading to corruption.  While I would never say that corruption is justified--or I'd at least leave that to a separate debate--this linkage is a clear problem.  But there is a related concept:  that of economic rent. 

Economic rent exists when the value of something, a diamond, for example, is much higher than the labor required to acquire it.  Similar rent exists in petroleum, as well as for many other natural resources.  An oil company has a clear incentive to pay a bribe to a government official for rights to an oil field.  What will often be the case is that the revenue from acquiring an oil field will be X, the labor required to acquire the oil will be one fifth of X, .2X, and the resulting profit--RENT--will be .8X.  When X is hundreds of millions or even billions of dollars, it costs next to nothing for a company to throw several millions of dollars at a government official if that will secure these rents.

This is relevant and related in that the difference between the value of the commodity and the cost of the commodity is too great.  Similarly, the value or power of an official's job compared to his/her actual compensation, if too great, will often lead to corruption, as described in the previous blog and much more to come.  In both cases, the closer the value can get to the price, the less corruption there will be.  In the myriad cases where this is impossible, adequate regulation combined with vigilant public scrutiny will be necessary. 

Yesterday's CorruptionDaily pick of the day highlighted Ethiopia's new tactic for fighting corruption. This system of registering all official income could do wonders for fighting both sides of the corruption coin.

From India

I just didn't know how lucky I was, growing up in a country that really isn't that corrupt.  You can say what you will about Chicago politics and the like, but you haven't seen anything until you go to a place where corruption is almost synonymous with official interaction.  It's not even that cops and other officials are necessarily bad people.  Often, it's too much of a hassle for them to fill out the paperwork for a Rs1000 traffic ticket.  Instead they'd much rather collect a Rs500 bribe and call it a day.  My friend Kethaki's mom was initially refused a ticket and pleaded with for a simple bribe instead.  After staunchly refusing to pay the bribe, her license was confiscated, and she was forced to go home, get someone to drive her to the police station, fill out forms, and then pay the ticket just to get her license back.  To quote her brother, "Anything can be obtained with a bribe.  Test scores, college admission, a passport."  What's worse is that many things, specifically involving official documents and bureaucrats, cannot be achieved without a bribe.

The general consensus of those with whom I talked is that these officials, policemen most importantly, are simply not paid enough.  A private security guard at a gate is paid around $120 a month.  A police officer is likely paid less than twice that.  A single bribe a day can more than double an officer's salary.  Knowing this, it can't be too surprising that people fear the police intervening even when they are struck from behind in a car.  One friend told me that when this happened, the guilty party took the present police officer aside, and after an exchange (of more than just words), the victim of the crash became the culprits.

Police are meant to protect a society.  We give them the power and authority to do that.  And they are going to get paid...one way or another.


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